The Psychological Effects of LSD

Marc Anderson

July 28, 1992

Introduction

LSD has always been a center of controversy in American
society, often times because people have been miseducated
about its effects or exposed to media bias. Its
physiological effects on the brain and body have become more
and more apparent in the last few decades when research in
neuroscience peaked. The psychological effects of LSD have
been often difficult to describe and document very well --
they were first discovered on April 16, 1943 by research
chemist Albert Hofmann
when a small amount of the drug
soaked through his fingers during a routine synthesis. He
experienced an imaginative dream-like state for a duration
of about 2-3 hours (Hofmann, 1983). Since then, a great
deal of work has been done attempting to document the health
effects of LSD.

Acute Effects

LSD is very potent: the effective dose is measured in
micrograms (ug) -- however, the lethal dose is literally
thousands of times that, making the drug essentially non-toxic.
There have been only a few cases of possible
overdose where people ingested extremely large amounts of
the drug (Allen et al., 1978; Griggs et al., 1977).

LSD can be administered a number of ways, the most
common: orally through paper, sugar cubes, on a piece of
gelatin, or by pill; intravenously; or intramuscularly. A
standard dose with noticeable hallucinogenic effects is
about 100-200 ug. The intensity of the trip is proportional
to the size of the dose -- it is interesting to note,
though, that the duration of the trip seems to stay the same
at higher doses (Freedman, 1984). The initial effects begin
20-40 minutes with a sense of euphoria and dizziness.
Hallucinations then begin to occur, with the trip peaking
for 4-5 hours after about an hour since the drug is taken.
LSD is best described as a drug that strikes down barriers.
The person who uses LSD is likely to feel detached from
his/her ego, and can cross between states of consciousness.
The user's perceptions are altered, causing visual and
auditory hallucinations. One may notice that the walls of
room are "breathing" or that motionless curtains appear to
be moving. Senses appear to mix: a user might see music,
taste colors, or hear visual stimuli. The LSD experience is
often difficult to describe by users -- words lose meaning
and are often insufficient in describing the effects of the
drug; thoughts may seem unclear. Effects taper off after
about 6-8 hours and are usually completely gone after a
nights sleep.

The user's mood is likely to change depending on how
he/she feels at various stages of the trip. The outcome of
the trip is almost always dependent on two primary
variables: the set and the setting. The set refers to a
user's expectations of the drug's effects and the user's
state-of-mind. The setting is the environment in which the
drug is taken. If an inexperienced user takes LSD in
stressed condition or in a bad mood, a bad experience may
occur. By the same token, taking LSD in a chaotic
environment like a noisy rock concert could turn into
trouble for someone unsure of the drugs effects. When users
on LSD become frightened or enter a state of panic, they can
usually be relieved or "talked down" by a friend. With this
in mind, probably the best way to use LSD would be in one's
home with several trusting supportive friends.

The following is a fairly long, but very informative
account of one of the first documented LSD trips done by
Albert Hofmann in 1943:

Supplement of 4/21: Home by bicycle. From 18:00 -
ca.20:00 most severe crisis. (See special
report.)"

Here the notes in my laboratory journal
cease. I was able to write the last words only
with great effort. By now it was already clear to
me that LSD had been the cause of the remarkable
experience of the previous Friday, for the altered
perceptions were of the same type as before, only
much more intense. I had to struggle to speak
intelligibly. I asked my laboratory assistant,
who was informed of the self-experiment, to escort
me home. We went by bicycle, no automobile
available because of wartime restrictions on their
use. On the way home, my condition began to
assume threatening forms. Everything in my field
of vision wavered and was distorted as if seen in
a curved mirror. I also had the sensation of
being unable to move from the spot. Nevertheless,
my assistant later told me that we had traveled
very rapidly. Finally, we arrived at home safe
and sound, and I was just barely capable of asking
my companion to summon our family doctor and
request milk from the neighbors.

[...]

The dizziness and sensation of fainting
became so strong at times that I could no longer
hold myself erect, and had to lie down on a sofa.
My surroundings had now transformed themselves in
more terrifying ways. Everything in the room spun
around, and the familiar objects and pieces of
furniture assumed grotesque, threatening forms.
They were in continuous motion, animated, as if
driven by an inner restlessness. The lady next
door, whom I scarcely recognized, brought me milk
-- in the course of the evening I drank more than
two liters. She was no longer Mrs. R., but rather
a malevolent, insidious witch with a colored mask.

Even worse than these demonic transformations
of the outer world, were the alterations that I
perceived in myself, in my inner being. Every
exertion of my will, every attempt to put an end
to the disintegration of the outer world and the
dissolution of my ego, seemed to be a wasted
effort. A demon had invaded me, had taken
possession of my body, mind, and soul. I jumped
up and screamed, trying to free myself from him,
but then sank down again and lay helpless on the
sofa. The substance, with which I wanted to
experiment, had vanquished me. It was the demon
that scornfully triumphed over my will. I was
seized by the dreadful fear of going insane. I
was taken to another world, another place, another
time. My body seemed to be without sensation,
lifeless, strange. Was I dying? Was this the
transition? At times I believed myself to be
outside my body, and then perceived clearly, as an
outside observer, the complete tragedy of my
situation. I had not even taken leave of my
family (my wife, with our three children had
traveled that day to visit her parents, in
Lucerne). Would they ever understand that I had
not experimented thoughtlessly, irresponsibly, but
rather with the utmost caution, and that such a
result was in no way foreseeable? My fear and
despair intensified, not only because a young
family should lose its father, but also because I
dreaded leaving my chemical research work, which
meant so much to me, unfinished in the midst of
fruitful, promising development. Another
reflection took shape, an idea full of bitter
irony: if I was now forced to leave this world
prematurely, it was because of this lysergic acid
diethylamide that I myself had brought forth into
the world.

By the time the doctor arrived, the climax of
my despondent condition had already passed. My
laboratory assistant informed him about my self-experiment,
as I myself was not yet able to
formulate a coherent sentence. He shook his head
in perplexity, after my attempts to describe the
mortal danger that threatened my body. He could
detect no abnormal symptoms other than extremely
dilated pupils. Pulse, blood pressure, breathing
were all normal. He saw no reason to prescribe
any medication. Instead he conveyed me to my bed
and stood watch over me. Slowly I came back from
a weird, unfamiliar world to reassuring everyday
reality. The horror softened and gave way to a
feeling of good fortune and gratitude, the more
normal perceptions and thoughts returned, and I
became more confident that the danger of insanity
was conclusively past.

Now, little by little I could begin to enjoy
the unprecedented colors and plays of shapes that
persisted behind my closed eyes. Kaleidoscopic,
fantastic images surged in on me, alternating,
variegated, opening and then closing themselves in
circles and spirals, exploding in colored
fountains, rearranging and hybridizing themselves
in constant flux. It was particularly remarkable
how every acoustic perception, such as the sound
of a door handle or a passing automobile, became
transformed into optical perceptions. Every sound
generated a vividly changing image, with its own
consistent form and color.

Late in the evening my wife returned from
Lucerne. Someone had informed her by telephone
that I was suffering a mysterious breakdown. She
had returned home at once, leaving the children
behind with her parents. By now, I had recovered
myself sufficiently to tell her what had happened.

Exhausted, I then slept, to awake next
morning refreshed, with a clear head, though still
somewhat tired physically. A sensation of well-being
and renewed life flowed through me.
Breakfast tasted delicious and gave me
extraordinary pleasure. When I later walked into
the garden, in which the sun shone now after a
spring rain, everything glistened and sparkled in
fresh light. The world was as if newly created.
All my senses vibrated in a condition of highest
sensitivity, which persisted for the entire day."
(Hofmann, 1983).

Chronic Effects

The long-term effects of LSD use can be both good and
bad. There are cases of people who claim to have had their
entire lives turned around, for the better, due to LSD use.
On the other hand, some people have been hospitalized by so-called
"LSD psychosis." In the late 1960s, several studies
indicated possible chromosome breakage due to LSD use. Some
people report experiencing "LSD flashbacks" -- brief vivid
repetitions of a previous LSD experience.

The effects of LSD are very strong and profound. Many
people have claimed to have discovered their inner selves
under the influence of LSD. One interesting analogy was
made by Professor Jeffrey M. Blum of the University of
Buffalo School of Law:

"The problems posed by LSD, for example, in some
ways resemble those presented by scuba diving.
Each is seen as a form of exploration that opens
new vistas. Hence participants often find the
activity enormously stimulating and inspiring.
Each activity poses a small but significant risk
of serious personal harm, these being death in one
and aggravation of pre-existing states of mental
instability for the other. Untrained,
unsupervised use of unchecked substances or
equipment are ill-advised in both cases." (Blum,
1990)

LSD also has shown to have therapeutic usefulness. It has
been successful in treating some forms of schizophrenia
(Hoffer, 1970). Another study found notable success in
treating terminally-ill cancer patients: two-thirds of the
subjects showed positive change in anxiety, emotional
tension, psychological isolation, fear of death, and the
amount of pain medication needed (Pahnke et al., 1970).
Studies that have shown LSD useful in treating alcoholism
and other addictions are contradictory and may be
inconclusive. Pahnke's group (1970) reported moderate
success in treating alcoholism, but Ludwig (1970) found
less-than-encouraging results. It's important to note,
though, that both of these studies used vastly different
treatment styles and dosages of the drug.

Some users of LSD experience what is clinically referred
to as LSD psychosis, schizophrenic-like disorders that seem
to be triggered by using the drug. However, in careful
analysis of LSD psychosis patients, it appears that those
who have strong family histories of major psychosis or
psychopathology are more vulnerable than those who do not
(Tsuang et al., 1982). Vardy et al. (1983) reported similar
findings, as well as that LSD psychotics have significantly
higher rates of parental alcoholism than control groups. In
a survey of five-thousand individuals who had used LSD a
total of twenty-five-thousand times, Cohen (1960) found 1.8
psychotic episodes per thousand ingestions, 1.2 attempted
suicides, and 0.4 completed suicides -- figures consistent
with the those of the general population. Regarding dangers
of psychosis in therapeutic uses of LSD, Pahnke et al.
(1970) notes:

"Since 1963 at the Spring Grove State Hospital,
and now at the Maryland Psychiatric Research
Center, over 300 patients have been treated with
LSD without a single case of long-term
psychological or physical harm directly
attributable to the treatment, although there have
been two post-LSD disturbances which have
subsequently responded to conventional treatment."

Bad reactions to LSD are almost certainly dependent on the
user. It is becoming increasingly easier to diagnose
schizophrenics clinically as patients suffering physical
disorders -- these people should be very cautious, if not
completely avoidant of truly powerful psychoactive drugs
like LSD. There are another class of people who use LSD
irresponsibly, ignoring important factors like set and
setting -- bad reactions, more acute then chronic, are
likely to occur here as well.

Really the only serious physiological concern about LSD
use has been that it may cause chromosome damage -- this was
first reported by Cohen et al. in 1967. These findings were
seldom replicated, and were contradicted by other studies
(Loughman et al., 1967; Bender et al., 1968; Pahnke, 1970).
In 1977, Maimon Cohen, one of the invesigators who first
reported this a decade earlier, stated that no conclusions
could be drawn based on existing evidence (Cohen et al.,
1977).

The phenomena of LSD flashbacks has been over-sensualized
by the media for many years. Flashbacks are associated with
highly emotional experiences and often happen to people who
have never used psychedelic drugs. A frightening war
memory, being raped, or even getting married, can all
trigger flashbacks quite some time later. Thus, an
emotional experience on LSD can also cause flashbacks.
Flashbacks also occur due to post-traumatic stress disorder,
associated with victims of disaster and extreme violence --
it is estimated that 1% of the general population suffers
from this ("Journey for Better Life," 1992).

Conclusion

LSD is a very potent drug, but is physically quite safe
and non-toxic. Its effects include mild euphoria and
anxiety, altered perceptions, and the ability to pass
between states of consciousness. Visual hallucinations are
the most noticeable by users. The acute effects taper off
as time progresses and are usually gone by the next morning.

Chronic effects of the drug can be positive and negative.
Positive effects include spiritual contact and self-exploration;
the most severe negative effect is known as LSD
psychosis. LSD has shown to have therapeutic usefulness,
although research has been severely limited for the last
several decades. LSD psychosis has been linked to forms of
schizophrenia, and thus, to some physiological disorders --
it appears to be dependent on the user, and not on the drug.